Grandfather Frost
by Draco and Ginny 1092
Summary: COMPLETED! I'm in a christmassy mood today, it's a christmas tale Harry Potter style... Enjoy! Disclaimer, I do not own any characters you recognise!


Grandfather Frost

Hermione Granger was staying and her grandfather's house one Christmas night during the holiday. Her grandfather, Dennis, was kind and gentle, always having something good to say about his granddaughter, but his second wife, Claudia, despised the sight of her. She always pampered her own daughter, who was lazy, bad-tempered and spoilt. But she wanted rid of Hermione as soon as she found out about her. But she didn't know Hermione was a witch.

Hermione had to rise before daybreak to tend to the cattle, fetch the firewood, light the stove and sweep the floor. Yet Claudia found fault with all she did and grumbled at her the whole day through.

Even the wildest wind grows calm in time, but there was no quieting Claudia once she was roused. She would not be content until she had driven the poor girl from the house.

"Get rid of her, old man!" She said one day to her husband. "I cannot bear the sight of her any longer. Drive her in the forest and leave her in the snow!"

Dennis pleaded but Claudia always had her own way. So, one bitterly cold morning, he harnessed the horses to the sledge and called Hermione:

"Come, my child, we are going for a ride, climb into the sledge."

The sledge raced over the crisp snow into the forest where it came to a lofty fir-tree. There he stopped and left the young, luckless, teenage witch trembling by a deep snowdrift. He drove home with a heavy heart certain he would never see his granddaughter again.

It was very cold, and Hermione sat beneath the hoary fir-tree shivering. All of a sudden, she caught her breath, for she could hear a snapping and cracking of twigs, and she knew Grandfather Frost was leaping through the trees. In a twinkling he was in the topmost branches of the very tree by which she sat.

"Are you warm my pretty one?" he called.

"Yes, quite warm, thank you, Grandfather Frost." Hermione answered.

He came down lower and the cracking and snapping grew louder than ever.

"Are you warm?" he called again. "Are you snug my pretty one?"

Hermione was scarcely able to catch her breath, but she said:

"Yes, I'm quite warm, thank you, Grandfather Frost."

He then climbed lower still, cracking and snapping the frosty boughs very loudly indeed.

Hermione was growing numb and could hardly move her tongue, but she still managed to whisper:

"I'm quite warm, thank you, Grandfather Frost."

Then Grandfather Frost took pity on Hermione and wrapped her in his fluffy fur and fleecy eiderdowns.

Meanwhile Claudia was frying pancakes and preparing for the funeral repast. She said to her husband:

"Go to the forest, old fool, and bring Hermione back to be buried!"

Dennis harnessed the horses and obediently went into the forest and there found his granddaughter on the very spot where he had left her. She was alive and well, wrapped in a warm sable coat over a glittering velvet gown. Beside her stood a large chest stuffed with furs and rare gems.

Dennis was overjoyed. He seated Hermione in the sledge, put the chest in beside her and drove home.

Back in the house the old woman (A/N: better than saying her name all the time lol) was still frying pancakes when suddenly her little dog began to bark:

"Ruff-ruff! Hermione Granger comes rich and fair,

A wondrous fortune found she there!"

The old woman threw the dog a pancake and said:

"You are wrong, dog! You should say:

'Hermione Granger is cold and dead, the forest snow lies on her head!' "

The dog munched the pancake, but still barked:

"Ruff-ruff! Hermione Granger comes rich and fair,

A wondrous fortune found she there!"

Claudia hurled more pancakes at the dog and, when this did not stop it, she beat it until it ran howling into the snow.

Suddenly, there came the sound of the sledge racing into the yard; the door burst open and in walked Hermione, dazzling in her white furs and precious stones. Behind her walked her happy grandfather bearing the heavy chest of furs and jewels.

Claudia was astonished to see her alive and dressed in such finery.

"Harness the horses, old man!" she said to her husband. "Take my own daughter and leave her in the same spot!"

Dennis put Amelia (A/N: Claudia's daughter) into the sledge, drove her into the forest and left her by the deep snowdrift by the lofty fir-tree. She was soon so cold her teeth chattered and her feet grew numb.

Presently, Grandfather Frost came leaping through the treetop, cracking and snapping the twigs and stopped to ask Amelia:

"Are you warm, my pretty one?"

"Oh no, I'm terribly cold!" she snapped. "Don't pinch and pierce me so!"

Grandfather Frost came lower, making the branches snap and crackle more loudly.

"Are you warm?" he called. "Are you snug my pretty one?"

"Oh no, I'm freezing!" she snapped back. "Go away you stupid old man!"

But Grandfather Frost came down still lower, and the branches cracked and snapped louder than ever and his breath grew colder and colder.

"Are you warm?" he called again. "Are you snug my pretty one? Are you cost my sweet one?"

"Oh no!" she cried. "I'm frozen stiff! Go away you stupid greybeard!"

Grandfather Frost was so cross that he sent a piercing cold blast through Amelia and turned her into a block of ice.

Day had barely dawned when Claudia said to Dennis:

"Make haste and harness the horses, old man. Go fetch my daughter and bring her back clad in furs and jewels.

When Dennis had gone, the little dog began to bark:

"Ruff-ruff! Hermione Granger will soon be wed,

But Amelia is cold and dead!"

Claudia threw the dog a pie and said:

"You are wrong, dog! You should say:

'Amelia comes rich and fair,

A wondrous fortune found she there!' "

The dog continued its barking:

"Ruff-ruff! Amelia is cold and dead!"

Before long she heard the sound of horses hoofs and rushed out to greet her daughter. But, when she pulled back the cover on the sledge, she found her daughter frozen stiff. So overcome with grief was she that she died.

It was the end of the holidays, and Dennis was at King's Cross station with Hermione and bid her goodbye as she boarded the Hogwarts Express with her boyfriend Harry and best friend Ron.

The End


End file.
